DIY – Crafts – Recipes – Etc.

Fabric Flowers: Tutorial #1 – “Fold and Layer”

It is not enough to say that I love fabric flowers; I am bordering on obsession with them! I pin every new tutorial for them that I find on Pinterest and am impatient to try any I haven’t tried yet. Unfortunately, since the last three months of the year are insanely busy for us (more so than most people’s as many people on both sides of our family have birthdays at the end of the year, plus holidays), I haven’t gotten around to trying out several of them. I tried a new-to-me one last night and took step-by-step pictures along the way. I will have to go back and do the same for others that I’ve already tried, so stay tuned for those!

(ignore the second shirt and extra buttons ~ I was going to make 2 but afterward decided to stick with 1)

What to do:

Fold 4 flower shapes in half then in half again. Glue them to the fabric circle, corners in the middle.

Fold 3 more flower shapes in the same way. Layer these over the four and glue.

Fold the last flower shape in half and pinch and bend it so that it forms a sort of ring on the top, as pictured. Glue only in the center so as not to stick any of the edges of the “petals” down.

Sew a bead or button into the center, as shown in the finished product at the top of this post.

Tips & Variations:

When sewing the bead/button in the center, sew all the way through the fabric circle at the bottom. This will leave a short section of exposed thread with which you can attach a bobby pin or safety pin to the flower, making it usable for your hair or clothing.

You can glue or sew a strip of fabric to the bottom of the flower and tie it to clothing, scarves, purses, etc.

These can be attached to headbands and hair ties to create easy hair accessories.

Layering two pieces of different fabric together adds visual impact. The fabrics can be different colors, types, textures, whatever sparks your fancy. To do this, simply cut out 8 flower shapes of the same size from each of two types of fabrics. Layer one of each flower shape, fold, and assemble as directed. The second layer will peek through in the edges of the petals.